Bristol funds new wave of energy projects in local communities

Eleven groups around the City of Bristol have been offered a total of £58,132 to undertake a range of energy projects in local communities.

The grants are being awarded by Bristol City Council through its Bristol Community Energy Fund – an initiative which encourages local solutions to community-specific energy challenges.

This new round of grants builds on the success of Bristol Community Energy Fund’s first round of funding for 12 local projects earlier this year. Many of these original projects are now well underway with St Werburghs Community Farm and the Bristol Playbus projects having been completed early.

As with the previous round of grant funding, the judging panel prioritised submissions that looked to enable renewable energy generation, reduce fuel poverty and change behaviour – all with the intention of making Bristol more sustainable and working towards the city’s target to become carbon neutral by 2050.

One of the first projects to receive funding during this round is the ‘TWO’s Project’ being led by Easton Energy Group, which will look at setting up a microgrid across two streets in Easton by connecting Solar PV with battery storage installed on residents’ houses. The project has the potential to directly reduce carbon and create a model that could be replicated across the rest of the city.

Other projects which have been offered funding include door-to-door energy awareness sessions being led by Talking Money and the installation of numerous energy-efficiency measures such as insulation for Zion Bristol.